Prague, Feb 5 (CTK) – Dozens of people protested against the statements by Finance Minister and ANO movement chairman Andrej Babis about editors of public Czech Television (CT), calling them “corrupt vermin” at Prague’s Klarov yesterday.
The rally was convoked by the organisers of a petition that has been signed by 2600 people and that calls on Babis to either prove his assertion about corruption, or resign.
The protesters then moved to the nearby Finance Ministry with a poster reading “CT tells lies because I have not yet bought it.”
The poster was written in Slovak because Babis is a Slovak. It hinted at the fact that he owns two national dailies, Mlada fronta Dnes (MfD) and Lidove noviny (LN) and some other media.
Babis said on January 31 he is filing a complaint with the Council for Radio and Television Broadcasting against the public Czech Television (CT) for its reports about his incomes and purchase of the Agrofert bonds, which he bought for one crown apiece.
Babis said CT editors make programmes about him to order.
“In a democratic country, it is inadmissible that politicians, acting from the position of their power, attack journalists without proof and so intimidate them. Politicians are paid from public money and they are to serve citizens. Media are to ask unpleasant questions without being afraid that they will be attacked. If we start to tolerate this behaviour, we may gradually find out that democracy is no longer democracy,” says the above petition.
CT management will want Babis to either prove his claims or apologise.
($1=24.867 crowns)
